[08/14/07 - 09:47 AM]Emmy Award Nominee Joe Mantegna Joins the Cast of "Criminal Minds" Joe Mantegna will play FBI Special Agent David Rossi, making his first appearance in the fifth episode of the season.

[via press release from CBS]

THIS JUST IN -- from CBS Entertainment -- EMMY AWARD NOMINEE JOE MANTEGNA JOINS THE CAST OF "CRIMINAL MINDS"

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 - Joe Mantegna will join the cast of CRIMINAL MINDS starring as FBI Special Agent David Rossi. Mantegna is scheduled to make his first appearance in the fifth episode of the season which is broadcast Wednesdays (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. CRIMINAL MINDS also stars Thomas Gibson, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, AJ Cook and Kirsten Vangsness.

"We are all THRILLED to have Joe Mantegna joining our family. He's an incredible actor, a genuinely nice person and, as a fellow Chicagoan, I can tell you he makes fantastic Italian Beef sandwiches and Chicago Style Hot Dogs," said Executive Producer Ed Bernero.

"We've been fans of Joe's since his early days on the stage and think he will be a wonderful addition to our CRIMINAL MINDS cast," added Executive Producers Mark Gordon and Deb Spera.

Special Agent Rossi is an original member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit who took early retirement to go on lecture and book tours, and has volunteered to return to the unit.

Joe Mantegna is currently nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in the summer mini-series, "The Starter Wife." His additional television credits include the series "Joan of Arcadia," "First Monday," the mini-series "The Last Don" (Emmy Award nomination), and "The Last Don II," all on the Network, as well as "The Simpsons," the television movies "The Rat Pack" (Emmy Award nomination) and three installments of "Spenser for Hire." His feature film credits include "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "The Godfather, Part III," "Bugsy" and "The Simpsons Movie." Mantegna won a Tony Award for his performance in "Glengarry Glen Ross."

CRIMINAL MINDS is produced by ABC Television Studios in association with CBS Paramount Network Television.